Easel back



March 19, 1935. R.-L. WFlGHT EASEL BACK Filed Dec. 20, 1934 Patented Mar. 19, 1935 PATENT oF IcE 1 1,994,739 7 I EASEL BAC 1, Robert L. Wright, Salem, Ohio Application mit er 0,1934, Serial No. 758,447

4 Claims. (or 40-14e) uNirso- STATES The invention relates to easel backs for display cards, pictures and the like and more particularly to a simple and inexpensive device of this character. I

Display cards andthe like are ordinarily provided with an easel back die stamped from" cardboard or the like and permanently attached to the back of the card so that the same may be held in an upright position upon a showcase, counter or other surface. The cost of produc ing such easel'backs is considerable, both for the material and labor required. There is also a considerable waste of n'iaterial as part of the cardboard forming the easel back is cutaway by the dies in order to produce the desired shape when the easel back is bent or folded into operative position.

As these easel backs are permanently attached to the back of the display card by mucilage or the like, the cost of the same to large advertisers, who are periodically changing their display cards, is exceedingly high as each new display card is provided with an easel back permanently at tached thereto.

The object of the present improvement is to provide a simple and inexpensive easel back which may be manufactured with a minimum cost of labor and material and which is detachably secured to the back of the display card or the like so that it may be easily and readily detached therefrom and attached to a new display card, thus saving the expense of providing a new easel back for each new display card.

Another objects is to provide an easel back including a piece of cardboard, paper or the like having one or more grooves formed therein, a bent wire brace being detachably received therein, and arranged to be folded against the back of the display card for shipping or storage and to be angularly disposed relative to the card for holding the same in upright position.

The above objects, together with others which will be apparent from the following description and drawing, may be attained by constructing the improved easel back in the manner illustrated in the drawing, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of a display card provided with the improved easel back;

Fig. 2, a fragmentary rear elevation of a portion of a display card provided with the improved easel back showing the wire brace folded flat against the card for shipping or storage;

Fig. 3, a vertical sectional view through the lower portion of a display card provided with the improved easel back;

Fig. 4, a section on the line 44, Fig. 3;

Fig. 5, a similar section of a modified form of theinvention; and

Fig. 6, a detached elevation of the bent wire brace. 1 5

Similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the drawing.

A display card or the like, which may be formed of cardboard or similar material, is indicated generally at 10 and may have any desired ad- 10 vertising matter or the like upon its front surface 11 A sm'all piece ofcardboard or the like, which may 'bein the form of corrugated paper, as indicated at 12 in Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4, is attached to the rear surface of the fdisplay'card 10 a'sby mucilage'or the'like, being preferably centrally located 'at the lower portion of said display card as best shown in Fig.1.'

The corrugated paper indicated at 12 may be of any usual and well known kind of corrugated pa. per having one layer 13 uniformly corrugated, producing a plurality of grooves 14 and ribs 15. If desired, instead of using a corrugated paper, a single sheet of cardboard or the like, as indicated at 12a in Fig. 5, and having a vertical longitudinal groove 16 centrally formed therein by pressing, steaming or the like, may be glued or otherwise attached to the rear surface of the display card 10;

It will be seen that when the cards 12 or 12a are glued to the rear surface of the display card, each of the groves 14 or 16 provides an elongated casing or tubing adapted to receive one end portion of the wire brace, as will be later described.

The wire brace, as shown detached in Fig. 6, is formed of a single piece of wire and may be of hard blued wire, or spring wire if desired. The wire is bent intermediate its end to form a loop or eye 17 and folded back upon itself for a portion of its length as at 18, the folded back portion being then bent outward as at 19, substantially at right angles to the depending straight attaching leg 20 and terminating in a downwardly and outwardly inclined angular supporting leg 21 preferably having a foot 22 formed at its end in the shape of an eye orloop.

The lower end of the straight attaching leg 20 may be pointed as at 23 in order that it may be easily inserted into one of the tubular casings or grooves 14 or 16. For shipping and storage purposes the wire brace may be located flat against the back of the display card 10, as shown in Fig. 2, with the lower portion of the attaching leg 20 inserted into a tubular casing or groove of the cardboard member 12, the right angle portion 19 of the brace resting upon the top edge of the member 12 as shown.

When it is desired to erect the card 10 upon a show case, counter or the like for display purposes, the wire brace is swung into the position best shown in Figs. 1 and 3, in a plane at right angles to the normal plane of the card 10, and is then pressed downward as shown in said figures, the upper portion of the groove or casing being clamped betweenthe folded back portion 18 and the upper portion of the straight leg 20 so as to hold the wire brace rigidly in the proper position to support the display card in upright position with the lower edge of the displaycard and the foot 22 of the wire brace resting upon the horizontal surface of the show case, counter or the like on which the card is to be displayed.

The wire brace may be formed of round wire 01' if desired, it may be formed of a wire having at least one face flattened as shown in Fig. 5, the opposed flat faces of the bent back portions assisting in holding the wire brace rigidly clamped upon the tubular casing 16.

Where it is desired to provide an easel back for display cards of large size, two of the bent wire braces may be used for a single card, the straight legs thereof being inserted into corrugationsat spaced points inthe corrugated paper card 12.

I claim:

1. In combination with a display card and the like; an easel back therefor including a piece of cardboard attached-to the back of said display card and having a vertical groove therein forming a tubular casing, and a wire brace includinga straight leg adapted to be received in said tubular casing, a folded back portion adapted to'tightly engage the outside of said tubular casing, and an angle to the straight leg.

2. In combination with a display card and the like, an easel back therefor including a piece of, cardboard attached to the back of said display angular suporting leg extending downward at an card and having a vertical groove therein forming a tubular casing, anda wire brace including a straight leg adapted to be received in said tubular casing, a folded back portion adapted to tightly engage the outside of said tubular casing, and an angular supporting leg. extending downward at an angle to the straight leg, said wire brace formed of wire having a -fiat side adapted to contact with the inner and outer sides of said tubular casing.

3: In combination with a display card and the 7 like, an easel back therefor including a piece of cardboardattached to the back of said display card and having a vertical groove therein forming a tubular casing, and a wire brace including a straight leg adapted to be received in said tubu-v lar casing, a folded back portion adapted to .7 tightly engage the outside of'said tubular ca,

tions of said corrugated paper, a foldedback portion adapted to tightly engage the outside. of said corrugated paper, and an angular supporting leg leg. l

ROBERT WRIGHT.

extending downward at an anglejtothe straight 

